Eric Matthews (S3-S1)
Eric Matthew has appeared in Horror RPG Series 3, Season 1. |- | |} * Special Note: The events of the first five Saw films, as well as sections of the Saw: Rebirth comic and the the flashbacks that were shown in SAW VI, are canon in this continuity while we are slightly remaking SAW VI for Series 3. Some creative liberties have also been taken for storytelling purposes and to fill in some gaps. It is VERY VERY STRONGLY advised that you see all five of the Saw films before reading this wiki if you haven't, since this wiki contains major spoilers for all of the films. Proceed at your own risk. ** WARNING: This wiki page does display graphic content that is VERY crucial towards the character. Eric Matthews is a main character from the Saw film series and controlled by Jigsaw. Character History "Yeah, well holding a gun to someone's head and forcing them to pull the trigger is still murder." - Eric Matthews Top Cop Eric Matthews was born on August 17th, 1969 in Los Angeles, California. After graduating from high school, he enrolled in college and became a police officer with the Los Angeles Police Department. He earned a very respectable reputation and was known for being fearless in the line of duty. He was once honored as a Top Cop, and his personal life good too, with his wife Gloria and their son Daniel. Then something went wrong. Eric became brash and reckless and began abusing his power, employing often unnecessary physical force. He reformed after realizing he was becoming power-abusing and unfair, but his career took a turn for the worst when after being led by Detective Mark Hoffman to various scene where evidence of crimes was found, he arrested seven individuals at their respective crime scenes. It was later discovered by the LAPD that the evidence was planted, a charge Eric fiercely denied, but had no evidence to prove his innocence. Eric had no choice but to admit to evidence tampering and planting, and he was disqualified from reaching the rank of Lieutenant Detective, a rank he came very close to earning. His life took another bad turn when he fell into an angry depression over the corruption charges being leveled against him and he also started an extra-marital affair with his partner, Detective Allison Kerry, which eventually led to him divorcing from Gloria and losing custody of Daniel. Eric's anger and frustration became so severe that they even started to impede his job; he even once broke a reporter's jaw with a flashlight and at one point gunned down an unarmed suspect. All of these controversial incidents disgraced Eric's reputation, and it was only further tarnished when it was revealed that he had one suspect imprisoned for a false drug charge, the charge's falseness revealed after the fact. Eric and Kerry were both suspended from the force. Eric was reduced to doing mostly desk work long by then. Little did Eric know that his past, which he was never fully responsible for, would come back to haunt him. The Jigsaw Case In April 2006, Eric was called in by his superiors to assist with the Jigsaw investigation, now being headed by Detective Allison Kerry, taking over the case for the late Detective David Tapp. Eric went in to identify the corpse of a young man who was found by asbestos cleaners in the city sewers. The victim was believed to have been killed by one of Jigsaw's contraptions, a Venus Flytrap Death Mask, as the VHS tape found at the crime scene revealed. Eric identified the victim as Michael Marks, an informant who helped him to obtain the information he needed to frame and arrest the people that he did, Eric identifying Michael by his tattoo on his leg. Eric was about to leave the crime scene, when a message that had been left for him was found, telling him to "look closer." And he would; the Death Mask had a Wilson Steel logo on it, Wilson Steel only having one steel mill in Los Angeles, in the Downtown district and the mill having long been out of operation. With a SWAT team ready, Eric and Kerry led them to Wilson Steel the following day. As they entered, some SWAT operatives had a deadly run-in with a knee-snapping contraption on the staircase and an electrified cage. Eric, Kerry and other SWAT operatives went upstairs, finding Jigsaw's lair, before finding Jigsaw himself. Jigsaw's Game Eric and his SWAT team cornered Jigsaw, the ailing killer wheelchair-bound and looking like he would die at any minute. Jigsaw was handcuffed and about to be detained, when he told Eric about his "problem," motioning over to a series of monitor screen in a caged-off area of the workshop, full of many of Jigsaw's disturbing contraptions and various tools and items. Upon unveiling the tarp that covered the monitors, Eric and the rest could see footage being transmitted from a decrepit house somewhere. Eric could see on the monitors that eight people were trapped, one of whom he recognized as his son, Daniel. Eric and Daniel's relationship had crumbled apart, after Eric failed to win custody of him and Daniel had been in trouble for stealing. Eric felt enraged upon seeing his son's life endangered and confronted Jigsaw, who told him of son's predicament. "He has about two hours, until the gas creeping into his nervous system begins to break down his body tissue begins to break down his body tissue and he begins to bleed from every orifice he has. Oh yes... there will be blood." Jigsaw told Eric, smiling evilly. Eric became frustrated and asked John where Daniel was, Jigsaw saying that Daniel was in a "safe place." Jigsaw also told Eric that he wanted a little of Eric's time to talk with him. Eric initially refused, but Kerry persuaded him to do so, Eric reluctantly agreeing. Eric began to talk with Jigsaw, secretly hiding a walkie-talkie near John's desk for Kerry and other officers to hear. Jigsaw told Eric that he wanted to play a game and that the rules were for Eric to sit down and talk with him, and that if he did that he would find Daniel in a "safe and secure state." Jigsaw introduced himself by his real name, John, and he conversed with Eric for a good while. John told Eric about his philosophy on life and how he viewed most people as being ungrateful for their lives, and often reflected on Eric's own troubled past as a corrupt and disorderly police officer. John told Eric about how his work started, after John barely survived a suicidal plunge off of a cliff, after he had become diagnosed with cancer. John told Eric how his work was intended to help people appreciate life. Eric tried to convince John to end the game and hand over Daniel to him, telling him he would be doing a good deed by doing so, but John refused. Breaking Point Eric became increasingly frustrated and volatile, as more of John's victims started dying in gruesome and painful ways. Eric began to lose his temper and Kerry suggested that he threaten to destroy some of John's work to try to make him end the violence, John seeming to relish what was occurring. Eric took Kerry's suggestion and destroyed sketches and prototypes that John had built, and destroyed some papers he had as well. John warned Eric that his violent temper wouldn't save Daniel and he further taunted him by reflecting more on his past, Eric reaching his boiling point by then. Just as Eric left John, John revealed to Eric through the walkie-talkie he had hidden that he had something for Eric to see, Kerry and Rigg finding it in a drawer inside the monitor area. They found folders containing the mugshots and police reports of the seven people that Eric had framed and arrested for false charges, all seven of whom were now in the house with Daniel. Eric had had enough by this point, after seeing that Daniel and Amanda Young were being hunted down by Xavier Chavez, who had gone on a violent rampage inside the house. Eric confronted John and viciously beat him, breaking his finger and inflicting other severe injuries. In fear of suffering more fatal injuries, John agreed to take Eric to the house. Eric took John with him and took him inside one of the police vans, driving him to the address that John had given him. He eventually arrived, John handing him the key to enter, and Eric proceeded into the house, desperate to find Daniel alive. "Hello, Eric..." Armed with his standard-issue pistol and using a flashlight to help guide him, Eric entered the old Traphouse, seeing it was darkened. When he came upon the corpse of Laura Hunter, nearby he found a picture of him with Daniel, taken when the two had gone for vacation to New York City, with the words "Father And Son" written behind the picture. He then found his way to the starting room of the Traphouse, where he found the corpse of Jonas Singer. It was also there that he found the hatchdoor in the floor leading to the sewers. Eric went down the small staircase that led into the sewers and walked down to dark and dank tunnels, eventually making his way to an old industrial bathroom, the same one where Dr. Gordon had his ordeal with Adam just months earlier. It was here that the decomposed corpses of Adam Faulkner and Zep Hindle were found, along with Xavier's freshly slain corpse. When Eric approached the bathtub, a figure wearing a pig mask and black robe suddenly jumped out and stabbed him in the leg with a syringe filled with a sedative. Eric fell asleep within seconds, and awoke a short while later, with a tape player next to him. He played the tape, and learned that Amanda Young was John's accomplice the entire time, and that she would continue his work after he eventually died from his cancer. Eric tried to escape from the bathroom, but his right foot was manacled to a nearby pipe, escape impossible for him. After the tape ended, Amanda appeared at the open bathroom door, sliding it shut and trapping him inside the old bathroom, leaving him to die... or so she thought. Desperate Decision Eric's gun and flashlight had both been left close to him, and untied his right boot and used it to bring both items close to him. He checked his pistol, only to find out that Amanda had emptied the bullets from it. He tossed the empty pistol aside in frustration, and used his flashlight to see the pipes he was chained to. He tried breaking free but the chain was too strong. He used the flashlight's light to locate a pistol-grip hacksaw, which had been used by Dr. Gordon to saw off his foot and unknown to Eric, that Daniel had used to kill Xavier. Eric took a hold of the hacksaw and tried sawing through his chain, when the chain proved to be too strong for the hacksaw to sever. Eric became frustrated and desperate, and shined his flashlight around the bathroom, when he located Dr. Gordon's severed right foot and saw it inside a manacle. A chilling realization dawned on Eric when he realized what he had to do, positioning the hacksaw to his right ankle to saw it off, but he couldn't bring himself to do it, and instead tossed the hacksaw aside in frustration. He looked around some more, spotting a broken and bloody toilet tank lid near Adam's corpse. The lid gave him an alternative to sawing off his foot, no less painful, but somewhat more preferable. Bracing himself, he brought the lid down hard onto his foot and repeatedly smashed it, enduring intolerable agony with each new smash. After smashing his foot about ten times, he broke it and was able to slide his foot out of the manacle and make his way out of the bathroom. "You're not Jigsaw, bitch!" Eric hobbled through the sewer tunnels, using his flashlight for better visibility and using a broken pipe as a makeshift crutch. He searched the sewers for Daniel, when he heard that Amanda was still in the tunnels and nearby. He eventually spotted Amanda and took her by surprise when he started to club her with the pipe, when she got out of the way in time and he accidentally struck a steam pipe, sending some steam flying in his face and eyes. He quickly resumed his assault against Amanda, repeatedly beating her even after she kicked in his destroyed right foot. Eric didn't give up though, biting her on her leg and throwing her hard onto a nearby wall. Eric demanded to the beaten Amanda where Daniel was, Amanda refusing to give Eric the answer. Eric just continued to slam her against the wall before he tossed her aside. Eric then reached behind the back-rim of his pants for a bloody hunting knife that he found on Xavier's corpse back inside the bathroom and had taken, taking the knife out. He demanded again to know where Daniel was, when Amanda retaliated by kicking in his damaged foot again, causing Eric to topple aside. Amanda got up and left the agonized Eric behind, when he insulted her by shouting after her "You're not Jigsaw, bitch!" Amanda was deeply hurt and offended by the insult, and turned back to finish him off, when she left him for dead and left the sewers. Solitary Confinement Eric, having eventually fallen unconscious from the extreme physical pain he felt in his destroyed right foot as well as extreme physical and emotional exhaustion from his escape from the bathroom, was dragged by John and Amanda's other accomplice that he was completely unaware of - Mark Hoffman, the detective responsible for framing him for corruption. Eric eventually awoke inside what he saw what a very small, dark and cramped cell, filthy and with rats often creeping inside, the rats his only company. Eric had been changed into a pair of orange prison coveralls and had a makeshift leg brace strapped to his right leg, his foot still in immense physical pain and ultimately becoming severely infected overtime. Eric would spend six full months, from April 2006 to October 2006, being confined in this cell in inhumane and unsanitary conditions. He developed severe body odor and lice, and the cell would reek of his waste. He was kept nourished with disgusting, mushy food and dirty water, being delivered to him through a small door installed in the cell's door. Eric suffered extreme physical and emotional agony, unsure of his son's status and whereabouts, and overtime he grew more mentally unhinged. Eric continued to be kept like a slave in these disgusting conditions, until the fateful night of October 21st, 2006. A pig-masked figure opened the cell door and sedated him, and Eric awoke to find himself in another trap, not knowing he was a pawn in a game for his long-time partner and friend, Rigg. "I don't wanna play anymore!" Eric was placed in a trap inside a storage room that Hoffman was involved in as an inside player, Eric with a chain-noose around his neck and suspended above a large ice block on a scale, and secured in place with some shackles. Hoffman was on the other side of the scale, shackled to a chair and gagged. On Hoffman's side was some melted and drained water from the large ice block, and next to Hoffman was an electrical generator. If Eric died from the two large ice blocks rigged above to crush his head, the scale would tip over and electrocute Hoffman in the melted ice water. Art Blanc, a lawyer who was involved with John Kramer years earlier, was being forced into playing a game and had to keep Eric and Hoffman alive to pass his own test. Eric had to endure both physical and emotional torture, feeling terribly hopeless. He became so hopeless that he tried to hang himself on the chain-noose twice. Art prevented this from happening, knowing that if he Eric died, Hoffman died as well and Art would be unable to pass his test. Art tried urging Eric to stay strong and make it through, Eric losing his will to live and even saying he didn't "want to play anymore." Eric continued to endure his agony, feeling his will to live slipping away, until he realized the game was nearing it's conclusion... Art, seeing that the timer was getting closer to zero and hearing Rigg break into Gideon and follow the path where the storage room was, gave Eric a .357 Magnum revolver with a bullet to shoot the Rigg to prevent him from breaking through the door and thus making success for the test impossible. Eric kept the Magnum aimed and ready, as both he and Art shouted for the Rigg not to go through the door. Eric, unaware it was Rigg until he heard his friend's voice shout out for him, shouted for Rigg not to open the door, but seeing Rigg was about to anyway, he fired a shot through the glass door in a desperate attempt to keep him out, but it was too late. Almost immediately after Rigg barged through the door and shot Art, the ice block rigs activated with only one second remaining on the timer, smashing onto Eric's head and crushing it into gory fragments and pieces. Eric was killed and his headless corpse fell aside. Rigg was wounded and in complete shock over Eric's demise, thinking he had done what he was supposed to. After the carnage at the Gideon Meat Plant, Eric's headless remains were transported to the Los Angeles County Morgue at the Angel Of Mercy Hospital, Eric identified by his fingerprints on his corpse. His corpse was kept in frozen storage, awaiting to be visited by his wife and son. Role in Horror RPG Series 3, Season One Resurrection And Recovery Eric awoke to find himself in some kind of scientific lab on a machine, and didn't know how he got there. His right foot also appeared to be completely intact and undamaged along with his head. He didn't know it at the time, but he'd been cloned, albeit cloned in an extremely unstable and emotionally explosive state of mind. With help from his cousin Dorian Sullivan (who'd been held captive inside the lab), Eric escaped from the lab and headed for his LAPD precinct for help. Upon arriving there, he met with officers shocked to see him back after his confirmed death and also saw Rigg there at the precinct. Rigg tried to explain what had happened right before Eric's demise, but Eric was in too much of a frenzied and panicked state to think rationally and lashed at Rigg. Eric was hauled off to the Pescadero State Mental Hospital to be treated for his severe mental deterioration, but not before seeing Daniel and Gloria for the first time since April 2006, at the precinct. He felt some relief knowing that Daniel was still alive after all, but it did little to ease his mental health. During his stay at Pescadero he underwent much testing and therapy to help with his mental health before he could be released back into civilian life. He had better control of himself up to when the re-animated John Doe Killer went for him, prompting him to violently beat him. Eric was sedated after this and placed under tighter watch, while he continued with his psychological recovery. Release Eric was reluctantly released by the Pescadero staff in July 2007 after Rigg persuaded and ultimately convinced them to release him. Eric had shown some improvement since his first stay in October 2006 at the mental institution and was more talkative, though he still had some mental and social issues to work on. Rigg drove Eric to see his family at their home, only to find the front door open and no-one residing inside. Eric was growing panicked when he eventually found out with Rigg that his family had fled with FBI Special Agent Peter Strahm following the family's attempted abduction from Dustin Redmond and his gang. Loose Cannon Eric and Rigg went with Strahm and the others to hide at an old junkyard in the city, keeping away from Redmond's gang as well as a surge of zombies following a massive zombie outbreak all across Los Angeles. Eric re-united with Daniel and Gloria for the first time in months, and got acquainted with the others with them, including Daniel's first ever girlfriend, Carmen Pauline Ryder AKA CPR. Eric however felt his grip on his sanity and anger failing and loosening, nearly losing his cool with both Daniel and his nephew, Chris Strickland, on a few occasions. The gang set out for escape and shelter in an RV they hotwired, only to encounter resistance from Dustin's gang along the way. Eric fought furiously with some of the gang members and eventually Chris was abducted, prompting a rescue mission of sorts. Along the way, Eric struggled with his seemingly weakening grip on his mental well-being and capacity. Even after Chris' rescue, Eric struggled with his severe anger and impulse control issues, which even led to a few violent disputes between his family and friends. Hunting An Old Enemy Eric and Rigg would set out to capture Amanda Young and her murderous new partner in crime Jason Voorhees following a series of killings in the town of Forest Green that was formerly Crystal Lake. The news was out that both killers were rampaging through Manhattan with help from their accomplice, Dylan Christy. Eric and Rigg assisted the NYPD in their lengthy attempt to apprehend the murderous trio and Eric was in for something of a shock when Allison Kerry made his way to the city to assist them, Kerry having been somehow re-animated. The manhunt took the detectives and the NYPD to several major Manhattan landmarks and even led to a less-than-friendly reunion between Eric and Amanda, a brutal fight having broken out between the two at a sky tram station. Eric nearly succeeded in killing Amanda when Jason came to her aid and brutally assaulted him, nearly killing him. Even in his battered and wounded state, Eric remained dedicated to his cause to capture his nemesis, when the manhunt came to a standstill at Central Park. The manhunt ended with the suspects escaping yet again. Eric, already in an unhinged state of being, swore vengeance against his friend's killers, and upon returning to Los Angeles, lived in a state of darkness and revenge, not helped by his six-month ordeal of agony from the previous year that still took it's mental toll on him. There was a break in the case the following month in August, when Eric received a call from bounty hunter Creighton Duke with information about Amanda and Jason in Crystal Lake, the town having reverted back to it's original name. Eric agreed to fly over to town and meet Duke there, inspite of the crisis his family was in at the moment, coping with Rigg's death and with Daniel now a father-to-be with CPR. After Eric arrived in Crystal Lake with Kerry and Rigg, and met with Duke, the foursome set out to find the murderous duo who were both proving to be a thorn in their side following a botched bounty hunter raid by Duke and a near miss at apprehending them at Camp Stonewater in Upstate New York. Their quest eventually led them to the Voorhees Manor, after Young with the help of Jason and Jason's father Elias took the crew of shock journalist Robert Campbell hostage and broadcasted the crisis on live television. Eric and the others made it there in time, only to be taken hostage, but this didn't last long following a fight between them and their targets that also includes Jason's father, Elias Voorhees. The foursome narrowly avoided being caught in a massive claymore mine blast with rigged claymore mines inside the manor that destroyed much of it and killed some of the hostages, following an intense shoot-out. With Jason now occupied fighting Duke, Eric had an open opportunity to fight Amanda on his own, brutally beating her, but Jason intervened in time to save her and he wounded Eric almost fatally, Eric losing much blood. Eric was taken to the Wessex County Medical Center, in critical condition and in need of a serious recovery, both physically and mentally, with his mental breakdown episodes also worsening and resulting in him nearly fleeing from the hospital. When he recovered well enough, he was transported to Angel Of Mercy Hospital back in Los Angeles, where the remainder of his recovery would occur. Eric was visited by Gloria and CPR during his stay at the WCMC, Daniel having opted not to come because he didn't want to see his father in such a miserable state. Loss Of Everything While recovering, Eric was visited by Rigg. Eric was showing strong signs of recovery, but would need to remain for a while longer before he could be released. He didn't bother waiting however upon hearing of Gloria's body being found at the Matthews home, damage done to the home and Daniel seemingly missing. He headed out of AOM with Rigg, Kerry and Dorian, heading for the Matthews home. Upon arriving at the Matthews residence, Eric was mortified to find Gloria dead in what looked like an execution-style killing and finding no sign of Daniel anywhere. Hoffman appeared to be even more crooked than previously thought, when it was learned Hoffman had ties with crime boss Robert G. Durant and the torture and murder-for-profit organization, Elite Hunting. Eric set out with the others for Elite Hunting's American chapter in L.A. and after killing several armed personnel there, Eric located Daniel who sure enough was with Amanda and her gang of killers, Eric suspecting Amanda abducted him and tried to indoctrinate him. Eric desperately tried to get Daniel back to him, but in the heat of the moment more violence broke out and Daniel had gone with Amanda's group before he could be saved. Eric, frustrated and worried over his son's well-being, could only wait with Rigg and his friends for anything regarding Daniel's status or whereabouts. John Kramer, somehow still alive, was captured the next day at an underground lair beneath a sewage plant, and a manhunt was declared for the remainder of Amanda Young's gang - Daniel now suspected as a willing Jigsaw accomplice, much to Eric's dismay. Reunion Eric was later reunited with both Daniel and Carmen, as well as their son Dale, now born by the time the family reunited in October of 2008. Daniel had given Eric a call to assure him he was alive and well, as were Carmen and Dale. It wasn't long before Eric and the others were reunited, Eric relieved to have his son back after such a long disappearance, but he couldn't help but shake the feeling he felt like a failed parent for the Matthews' divorce happening in the first place. Dead Silence Shortly after the reunion, Eric received a strange package consisting of a ventriloquist's dummy. Upon further inspecting the package, saw that the package had been delivered to him from a small town in Northern California called Ravens Fair - which also happened to be where his identical cousin, James Lipton, died back in 2007. With help from the Ghostbusters, Eric travelled up north to Ravens Fair to investigate, trying to determine as to why he was being targeted by Mary Shaw, who had sent him the package. The Ghostbusters later captured Shaw and Eric was no longer a target of her's. Following this, he returned home to resume his duties with the LAPD. Familiar Face - Or Not Eric was called in to help the FBI with a takedown mission to bring down the Jigsaw Killers, with Agent Kendell Makana on the case, Makana also happening to be an identical sister of Amanda's, whom Eric mistaken her for initially until fingerprints showed it wasn't her. Eric reluctantly agreed to help out, still finding it odd to be around someone who resembled one of his rivals so much, but wasn't her. While Makana and other FBI agents went to intercept the Jigsaw Killers with their newest test, Eric had been with Rigg and his SWAT unit, entering a suspected Jigsaw Killer hideout at an old factory. Sure enough it was, finding items belonging to various accomplices. The factory hideout appeared empty, but Dylan Christy had nearly been caught when he appeared to drop by. Eric, Rigg and SWAT would later head to Gideon after receiving calls that their targets were there. However, by the time they arrived at the old meat plant, the Jigsaw accomplices were already gone, and John Kramer himself had been killed in a rigged trap inside the infirmary where he'd been. The Jigsaw case went cold after this, but worse yet for Eric was that Daniel seemingly went missing along with Dale and Carmen, having not been seen or heard from since that time. The following years for Eric were very dark, with his son again missing and his enemies still out there. Regular Appearance Eric stands five feet ten inches tall and weighs somewhere between one-hundred seventy to one-hundred eighty-five pounds. His body type is average with a bit of muscle. He has brown hair, blue eyes and a slightly round face. He also has a tattoo of the Matthews Family crest on his upper-left bicep. He usually wears casual clothes, but also wears dress clothing. When Eric was imprisoned for the six months following his fight with Amanda Young, he grew a beard and also grew longer hair that became very shaggy and disheveled. Following his cloning, he still retained his beard and longer hair, but shaved both sometime after his cloning and is currently clean-shaven and sports straight and slightly thicker short hair. Following his successful cloning, he still retains his Matthews Family crest tattoo, and also regained his right foot. Eric sports some recent scars following his violent encounters with Amanda Young and Jason Voorhees, including a very deep scar around his sternum area after Jason stabbed him with a large Bowie Knife, nearly killing him. Trademark Gear Eric usually carries a silver-plated .45 ACP Smith & Wesson Model 5946 semi-automatic pistol, a .357 Magnum Smith & Wesson Model 60 snub-nosed revolver for back-up and other police/detective equipment, such as his flashlight, and his police badge and identification. Category:Badass Heroes Category:Police Category:Clones